Index Ventures backs JustPark app

JustPark said Thursday that it has received an undisclosed investment from Index Ventures. Headquartered in London, JustPark is a parking app.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON – 7 August 2014 – JustPark, the online and mobile service that lets you park wherever and whenever, today announces a world first in motoring technology: an in-car app that lets drivers manage the entire parking process directly from their dashboards.

MINI is the first car brand to integrate the JustPark app, with plans by BMW to roll out the app across its entire range later this year. JustPark is also available through the iPhone app and via justpark.com.

Using the in-car app, drivers can seamlessly find, book, pay for and navigate to a parking space through their dashboard, eliminating the inconvenience of circling around looking for a suitable spot. Drivers can browse a wide selection of 100,000 parking spaces across the UK, from car parks and hotels to domestic driveways and pubs. Once they have chosen and paid for a space, they are directed to their destination by the car’s navigation system. The in-car app is designed to be used while on the move, having undergone extensive safety testing by BMW laboratories in Munich, Germany.

Few areas of modern life are as untouched by technology as parking, with figures showing that the average driver is wasting 106 days of their life searching for a parking space. This not only costs the UK economy approximately £6.3 billion every year in lost productivity, but is also responsible for an estimated 30% of all traffic that builds up on urban roads.

JustPark founder, Anthony Eskinazi, said, “In 2014, no driver should have to experience the stress and uncertainty of circling the streets searching for that elusive parking space. JustPark gives drivers the convenience of finding and reserving an affordable parking space in moments. Just as we use apps to order taxis and takeaways, parking is finally being brought out of the dark ages.”

Chris Brownridge, Director for MINI UK, commented: “MINI Connected is all about helping owners to interact with the outside world whilst on the move. Not only does our in-car system allow people to talk, listen and engage in a convenient way, but now it also helps them to find a place to park.”

He continued: “The JustPark functionality – which is a world-first for MINI – will make securing a convenient parking place in our busy towns and cities a breeze.”

The world’s largest parking marketplace
The car is widely considered to be the next major tech battleground, with digital tech still a rarity in a largely analogue in-car experience. The release of the JustPark in-car app follows the recent launch of Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android-based Open Automotive Alliance, with the GSMA (the trade body for mobile operators) estimating that there will be over 60 million connected cars on the road globally in the next five years.

To address motorists’ biggest headache, JustPark has built the world’s largest parking marketplace. It connects home and business owners who would like to earn money from renting their space with drivers in need of a convenient, safe and cost-effective place to park. By bringing together a variety of parking spaces from the largest car parks to individual private parking places onto one platform, JustPark has become the fastest and easiest way to book a parking place anywhere, anytime.

Since founding, JustPark has attracted 500,000 drivers who can choose from over 100,000 parking spaces. To further accelerate this growth, consolidate its market-leading position and expand internationally, JustPark has today announced that it has secured an investment from Index Ventures, the investor who has backed many of today’s leading online brands including BlaBlaCar, Just-Eat and King.

Robin Klein, partner at Index Ventures, will be joining JustPark’s board. He said, “Index aims to invest in companies that we believe have the potential to transform entire industries. Parking has suffered from a lack of innovation. We believe JustPark can change that.”

JustPark has previously taken investment from BMW i Ventures, the venture capital arm of BMW that invests in startups working to improve mobility in urban areas. BMW i Ventures took a strategic stake in JustPark, formerly known as ParkatmyHouse, in 2011.

Follow the link below to an embeddable demonstration video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKp3KV0FzbY&feature=youtu.be

About JustPark
JustPark was previously known as ParkatmyHouse, the online platform that pioneered the phenomenally popular trend of peer-to-peer driveway rental in the UK. Founded in 2006 when Eskinazi was 23 years old, ParkatmyHouse was the first company to recognise that emerging mobile technology could be used to solve the age old headache of parking by connecting property owners with unused parking spaces to drivers in need of a place to park.

With homeowners now offering over 100,000 affordable and convenient parking spaces to more than half a million registered drivers, the company has commenced a radical expansion into the business-to-business market. Responding to a fast growing community of drivers and mounting interest from companies wishing to collaborate, ParkatmyHouse relaunched as JustPark to reflect how much its business has developed.

As JustPark, the company’s offering extends beyond domestic driveways to commercial and council car parks, hotels, churches, schools and pubs, with partnerships with hotel giants Hilton and Holiday Inn, as well as with major commercial car park groups including Europe’s largest parking company, APCOA.